The hot new Motorola Razr 5G gets an official US release date and loads of cool deals
The conditions of the deal/s may have changed since the initial publishing of this post.
After an understandably timid and clumsy start last year, the foldable smartphone market competition is heating up even if we don't count Huawei's US-prohibited efforts in this space or LG's eccentric dual-screen experiment, which belongs to a category of its own.
That's because Motorola appears to have learned a thing or two from the mistakes of 2019's reimagined Razr, which actually began selling in 2020, providing no competition whatsoever for the world's most popular foldable handset to date due to its deeply flawed design, modest specifications, and excessive pricing.
An early release and plenty of retail partners
The 5G-enabled Razr is an entirely different kettle of fish, standing out from its forerunner in a number of key departments. For one thing, you will be able to buy the aptly named Motorola Razr 5G starting October 2, which is less than a month after the vastly improved phone was officially unveiled.
Motorola is also announcing today all the retail channels set to pick up the Razr 5G this Friday, which will include Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo Video in addition to the company's own US e-store, as well as AT&T and T-Mobile.
That's a huge improvement over the Verizon-exclusive Razr 4G, although because the 5G-capable variant lacks support for Big Red's blazing fast Ultra Wideband network, the nation's largest wireless service provider has no plans to carry this bad boy.
Too rich for your blood? Fret not!
With great nationwide availability comes great generosity too, as both the unlocked and carrier-specific Motorola Razr 5G models will go on sale at a cool discount. We're talking $200 off a $1,399 list price available at Best Buy, B&H, and Amazon with no strings attached right off the bat and enhanced savings for those willing to meet T-Mobile or AT&T's requirements.
Namely, new and existing T-Mo customers can save $400 with 24 monthly bill credits and an "eligible" device trade-in or a whopping $700 when activating a new line of wireless service and opting for a two-year installment plan and trading an eligible smartphone in. That's a lot of special conditions, but it's also a lot of money.
Meanwhile, new AT&T customers are looking at "up to" a $700 price cut of their own with a number port-in, device trade-in, and a "qualifying" installment plan purchase on an "eligible" unlimited wireless option. Finally, those of you who are already subscribed to the nation's third-largest mobile network operator can get up to $400 off the Razr 5G by adding a line of service to their existing accounts or a maximum discount of $300 by upgrading their device... and trading said device in.
All in all, Motorola's refreshed flip smartphone seems pretty competitively priced to take on Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 5G, despite packing a slower Snapdragon 765 processor and smaller 2,800mAh battery while also sporting a smaller and humbler 6.2-inch primary display with a resolution of 2142 x 876 pixels.
Compared to its predecessor, the Razr 5G looks a lot more powerful and refined, at least on paper, and something tells us that's going to be enough to seal the deal for plenty of hardcore fans of this iconic design. If you're thinking of buying one of these bad boys at a substantial discount starting this Friday, you may want to keep in mind you'll also be getting a large 2.7-inch external screen and the same hefty 8GB RAM count and 256 gigs of internal storage space as the Galaxy Z Flip 5G.
Things that are NOT allowed: